'Great core of homegrown': Harlequins confirm 68-man 2022/23 squad

Harlequins have confirmed a 68-man senior squad - consisting of 43 senior players and bolstered by 25 from the club’s senior academy - for the upcoming 2022/23 season. The squad, of which 69 per cent have come through the Harlequins pathway, is bolstered by two new signings with South African Irne Herbst and Charlie Matthews strengthening options in the second row.

A club statement read: “Having impressed upon their chances in the senior squad last season, Harlequins academy players Fin Baxter, George Head, Jack Musk, Sam Riley, George Hammond, Jack Kenningham, Matas Jurevicius, Lennox Anyanwu and Oscar Beard all graduate to become senior players this year. The squad has also welcomed twelve new faces into the senior academy.

“The squad will begin their season’s preparations with warm-up fixtures against London Scottish (away, August 27) and Leinster (home, September 2) before kicking off the 22/23 season away to Newcastle Falcons on Saturday, September 10.”

Harlequins head coach Tabai Matson said: “Pre-season is always a great time of year. There is a great feel and mentality within the camp as we head into two warm-up games against London Scottish and Leinster over the next two weeks. We want to start the season well and have two tough games to gauge where we are.

“This is going to be a different start for the group compared to last season, with an increased number of boys returning to us late at the start of the campaign from international duty. This presents a new challenge for us, but equally new opportunities arise from that.

“We have a great core of home-grown players within this squad and some of those younger guys will have the chance to step up throughout the year with increased international recognition for some of our senior players.

“The goal for this group remains the same as last year - we want to ensure we compete in both the league and Champions Cup, but a top-four spot in the Premiership is our ultimate goal. We know this team can fly once they are in a playoff position. To do that, the group has to be laser-focused on growing and developing on top of the standard we set last year.”

Harlequins squad 2022/23

Front row (18): Fin Baxter, George Head, Jack Musk, Jack Walker, Joe Marler, Jordan Els, Sam Riley, Santiago Garcia Botta, Simon Kerrod, Wilco Louw, Will Collier, Caleb Ashworth*, Ethan Clarke*, Jack Doorey-Palmer*, Nathan Jibulu*, Rhys Litterick*, Tom Osborne*, Will Hobson*;

Second row (8): Charlie Matthews, Dino Lamb, George Hammond, Irne Herbst, Stephan Lewies - club captain, Harry Browne*, Jonny Green*, Tom Golder*;

Back row (14): Alex Dombrandt, Archie White, Jack Kenningham, James Chisholm, Luke Wallace, Matas Jurevicius, Tom Lawday, Viliami Taulani, Will Evans, Jonny Smith*, Makeen Alikhan*, Seb Driscoll*, Will Trenholm*, Zach Carr*;

Scrum-halves (6): Danny Care, Jack Stafford, Lewis Gjaltema, Scott Steele, Charlie Clare*, Jake Murray*;

Fly-halves (4): Marcus Smith, Tommy Allan, Will Edwards, Jamie Benson*;

Centres (9): Andre Esterhuizen, Joe Marchant, Lennox Anyanwu, Luke Northmore, Oscar Beard, Ben Waghorn*, Bryn Bradley*, Hayden Hyde*, Ludo Kolade*;

Outside backs (9): Aaron Morris, Cadan Murley, Louis Lynagh, Nick David, Ross Chisholm, Tyrone Green, Cassius Cleaves*, Connor Slevin*, Conor Oresanya*.

*Denotes academy player